


The last straw

by SmileDesu



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: Beware, Dorks, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 19:41:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7327687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmileDesu/pseuds/SmileDesu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The original Young Avengers didn't come together all at once. What happens when being a third wheel to Nate and Eli's act is almost enough to make Teddy quit? Enter - Asgardian!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The last straw

_Maybe this was a bad idea_. Teddy found himself thinking that more often as time progressed, the doubt increasingly gnawing at him. Another night, another would-be training session, another chance for Nate and Eli to be at each other’s throats. This was _not_ super-hero behavior, he thought more than once, but by then knew better than to point it out. See, every time it so much as seemed like he was going to intervene-  
  
“You stay out of it!”  
  
Eli’s bark was worse than Nate’s snappy reaction, but they both told him off just the same. So much for team building, Teddy thought, and excused himself.  
  
To be honest, Teddy wasn’t sure _what_ he expected when he accepted Nate’s offer and joined the team. They all had an idea of what the ideal was, but the real Avengers - any superhero team worth their salt, for that matter - have had time to build themselves up, and even they still had the occasional if not frequent spat. To expect that out of three teenage boys who just met each other not even a month ago was ludicrous.  
Given that that was the situation, then - what were his options? He tried to talk to Nate and Eli separately before, but while Nate did seem to at least acknowledge he and Eli had terrible chemistry, no amount of effort on his part alone was enough to fix things. Eli’s temper would get the better of him no matter what they did - including pointing out his temper was an issue -  and Nate would feel inclined to respond. Seeing how that failed, then, what else could Teddy do?  
It would’ve been different if they had at least another member on the team, Teddy was certain. It didn’t even have to be someone who could bridge the two, by either authority or diplomacy, though that would be ideal. No, Teddy would’ve settled for less. Just someone else who, like him, would be frustrated with the situation and they could focus on each other while Nate and Eli had eyes for no one else. That would be nice, he caught himself thinking, to have someone like that. Setting aside the obvious outcome of it improving their chances of _surviving_ against Kang, It would certainly make training more bearable. Maybe even... _pleasant_? Given recent events in his personal life, Teddy was short on people he could call friends, and with the tense atmosphere on the team he doubted that itch would be scratched there. Now that the thought was conjured, however, he found himself wanting that to happen, no, _needing_ it to happen. He'd talk to Nate, he decided. The guy said something about a list, that he was still looking, Teddy would ask about that, maybe offer to help. At the very least, a new person would shift the balance of power, for better or worse.  
And if no such person appeared...?  
Then maybe it was time Teddy reconsidered some things. Sure, he wanted to help Nate, especially with the Avengers being in shambles, and fighting Kang was a fascinating, exciting concept. It was also bordering a suicide mission, with numbers and experience both working against them. The team being a dysfunctional one only made matters worse, and on a personal level to boot - there was only so much hostility any one person could put up with before they cracked, and Teddy was rapidly nearing his limit. He owed it to the team, and to himself, to be honest about this.  
It was decided, then. He'd talk to Nate, explore his options - tomorrow.  
  
–  
  
Today was the day. Teddy had told Nate he needed to talk to him, and was waiting for the day to pass so he could get to it. Once he got to the meeting place, however, all he found was an impatient Patriot.  
  
"Running this late, and then he'll lecture _me_ about responsibility..."  
  
It _was_ rare for Nate to be late, especially considering the guy had literally nothing else to do other than prepare for the inevitable showdown with Kang. It didn't take long for Teddy to figure out what he could be up to, though - after all, recruiting new members _was_ on their to-do list, wasn't it?  
  
"You don't think... he _found_ someone, do you?"  
  
It was rare for Eli to show emotions other than anger and annoyance, but there it was - surprise, and Teddy liked to pretend also excitement. Teddy found himself even more restless than before, too. Here he was, about to talk to Nate about leaving, but--  
  
"Are you _sure_ this is ok?"  
The voice, hesitant and giddy, was one that almost rang familiar but not quite. Teddy and Eli exchanged looks before looking in the direction the voice was coming from. It was soon joined by Nate's.  
  
"This is _fantastic_! Did you really make it all on your own?"  
  
"Yeah, I have experience with this sort of thing..."  
  
"Impressive!"  
  
Entering the clearing were Iron Lad in his brightly colored armor and another young man, dressed in similarly flashy clothes. The first thing Teddy noticed was the red cape falling from his shoulders, followed by two wings sticking out of a metal headpiece. Next came the wooden staff, and down went Teddy's eyes until he noticed the stylized boots that seemed to bring the look together. It _was_ an impressive get-up, though if he were allowed to be honest with himself, Teddy found himself more than pleased with what was underneath it, too, but he refused to dwell on such thoughts. Now was _not_ the time.  
  
"Hulkling, Patriot, meet - Asgardian!"  
  
Their Thor-stand-in, Teddy concluded and nodded. It fit, with the staff being a Mjolnir replacement, he figured. The guy could conjure electricity, it turned out, and control it to a degree, ensuring no complaints were voiced about his choice of persona. The initial introductions thus out of the way, Eli lost no time in insisting they began training. Nate objected, claiming they should get better acquainted with their new member, at least hear out what he could actually do, and the road from there to another argument was a short one. Teddy sighed heavily, the familiar despair rearing its ugly head again. This wasn't going to work after all, was it? And yet, _something_ was different-  
  
"Are they _always_ like this?"  
  
Teddy blinked and looked down at Asgardian, who was frowning at the other two. Staff over his shoulders, he shifted his weight back and forth before looking at Teddy questioningly. The Hulk-wannabe needed a moment to answer, finally remembering himself.  
  
"Ah-- yeah, unfortunately. Too bad we can't harness their energy, we could even beat _Ultron_."  
  
The initial snort escalated into a short fit of laughter, and Teddy found himself staring. It _was_ a corny joke, but there was no need to laugh so much-- wait, unless... he was laughing _with_ him?  
  
"I'll settle for something smaller. You know, like _Kang_."  
  
Oh gosh. He _was_.  
"Oh, no, sure, that's _much_ better!"  
  
Another laugh, light and easy and ringing in Teddy's ears like a choir of angels. It was followed by a smile, bright and dazzling, and Teddy found himself smiling back until the moment a hand was held up to him.  
  
"I'm Billy. _Should_ be easier to use than 'Asgardian', I think."  
  
Teddy glanced at Eli and Nate who were still at it before taking that hand in a shake.  
"Teddy. Welcome to the team."  
  
"You poor soul, how long did you have to put up with this on your own?"  
  
Before Teddy could answer, the argument from nearby came to a stop. Eli stormed off to punch something while Nate rejoined the two.  
  
"Now that that's over with..." the armored one muttered and was about to talk to Billy, but turned to Teddy instead. "Ah, but before I forget, did you want to talk to me about something, Hulkling?"  
  
It wasn't just Nate, Billy was now looking up at him with expectation and curiosity and Teddy realized a lump had lodged itself in his throat and was refusing to budge. Yes, he did want to talk to Nate, but... wasn't this already it? Now, true, he probably shouldn't judge anything based on less than five minutes of interaction with someone, but he still hadn't quite recovered from how weak in the knees Billy's smile made him, or how easy he realized it has been to talk to the guy - to even just be there with him while Nate and Eli did their own thing. And wasn't this exactly what he's been waiting for?  
The smile that spread on his lips was warm and content, and made Billy gape in awe, a reaction Teddy unfortunately missed as he turned back to Nate.  
  
"It worked itself out."  
  
"Oh... alright, then."  
  
Feeling better about this than he had in a while, Teddy looked down at Billy with the best taunting grin he could manage. "So. You think you can bring down the thunder?"  
  
Recovering fast enough, Billy smirked back and bettered his grip on his staff. "When I'm done with you, you'll be seeing _stars_."  
  
"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Eli complained. Nate was already busy questioning Billy about his powers in light of that teasing comment. Billy was scratching the back of his neck and blushing, probably over all the attention, and Teddy? He figured he could stay for a while longer.  



End file.
